The Difference Between Dreams and Reality
by Nameless Dreamer
Summary: *WIP* (Pre-S7) Buffy and Dawn go missing setting a chain of events in motion that signal the end of the world. The Powers that Be give Xander a chance to stop it but the outcome may be worse than anything he imagined.
1. Oedipus Harris

Disclaimer: I own none of these characters so please don't sue me. 

Email: vince92079@yahoo.com

Rating: R

Category: Action-adventure, Angst

Setting: It's pre-season 7 Buffy and pre-season 4 Angel.  Basically everything that happened in the series happened.  Willow went nuts and got a free trip to Europe for punishment.  Angel is still sleeping in the bottom of the Pacific thanks to Connor.

Author's Notes: This is basically a Xander centered story but there's going to be several characters from Buffy and Angel involved in this.  

Summary: *WIP* (Pre-S7) Buffy and Dawn go missing setting a chain of events in motion that signal the end of the world.  The Powers that Be give Xander a chance to stop it but the outcome may be worse than anything he imagined.

= Xander's comments

----

Ch 1 - Oedipus Harris

----

"You know, I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair. Then I thought, wouldn't it be much worse if life **were** fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them? So, now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe." -- **Marcus to Franklin in Babylon 5:"A Late Delivery from Avalon"**

----

In Room 261 of Sunnydale Hospital was a patient brought in earlier suffering from severe injuries and shock.  

Though the man, identified as Alexander Harris seemed to have miraculously recovered from his physical injuries.  His mental condition was a different story.  After several outbursts he had to be sedated and restrained.

The nurses had noted tonight he seemed strangely subdued and had stopped constantly walking into his room.  

Xander looked exhausted and just stared at the ceiling.

Just when I think things can't get any stranger in my life somebody always proves me wrong.  Granted I don't have any special abilities or talents like everyone else but I'm beginning to think I really am special.  After all how can somebody like myself survive this hellhole for six years?  

It's safe to say there's definitely an apocalypse coming.  For some strange reason fate made me the guy to try and stop it.  Not Buffy or Angel just regular Xander.  

The worst part is I screwed up.  I had a clear-cut plan on what to do and I can't even do that right.  There's only one person who could've stopped this.

Stop that line of thought right there.  I know that's what you're thinking and it's not me.  Though I do appreciate the vote of confidence.

I sound upset don't I?  Well lets see:  Buffy and Dawn are missing, the world's about to end and I'm losing my mind so yeah everything's just freakin peachy.

It's like that movie Fight Club.  Welcome to my hell, I am Jack's mental breakdown.  

See I've been used.  Everybody's been stringing me around doing what they want me to do and for some strange reason I keep jumping through the hoops.  I don't know why I keep doing it.  But I have figured out this much.  When I get relegated to a gopher roll an apocalypse shows up.  Think about it:  I got pressed into donut runs when the sisterhood of Jhe tried to open the Hellmouth.  Spike gives me the speech about being the Slayer's groupies three years ago and a bunch of demon tried ending the world with Word of Valois.  And now this.  Well it makes sense to me.

Everybody seems to want to do what they want without even taking my opinion into account.  

So what do I want?  I want nothing better than to get a baseball bat and crack it over the head of every single life form that's been messing with me lately.  

Not that I'm a vengeful person mind you but everyone has his or her breaking point.  I hit mine about 23 minutes ago.  Of course that's kinda obvious with the blood shot eyes, the restraints I'm tied up with and the general look of insaneness on my face.

And it wasn't even because somebody's tried to or threatened to kill me three times in the last two days.

Now everybody else is going off to fight the major battle I was supposed to do.  Problem is I know things they don't, things I couldn't tell them and I'm not sure but it could make a big difference in this.

But I digress…I think this is a little too far ahead so I'll elaborate.  I can tell by all the confused faces you guys all have no idea how I ended up like this.  Well it took a little while to get to this point but I'll do the best I can.

It all started about two days ago… 

----

It was close to midnight as Buffy was training her sister in the art of slaying.  For the past three months she had Dawn everything she knew and even thought Dawn didn't have the abilities of a Slayer she seemed to be doing as well Buffy could hope.

They had finished off the nightly patrol, which had ended in front of the magic box.

"So looks like things were pretty dull tonight."  Dawn said.

Buffy walked off the sidewalk into the deserted street.  "Yeah too bad.  I was almost hoping for something.  Anything."

Dawn didn't say anything.  

"Dawn?"  

She turned around and was met with horrible sight.  Dawn was knocked out with blood pouring out of a cut on her forehead.  Standing over her in the dark alley was a huge silhouette.  When it walked out onto the sidewalk it was the last thing Buffy expected.

"Adam."

The demon hybrid could sense the fear in Buffy's voice.  "Hello Slayer.  Miss me?"

He looked almost the same from the last time Buffy had fought him.  The only differences were a large open wound where she had ripped out the uranium power cell and a broken Polgara skewer on his left hand.

"How the hell did you come back?  You should be a rotting corpse!"

"You'd think so but your damage to my systems was easily replaceable."

"Yeah right.  And I suppose somebody just ran down to Radio Shack and picked up a nuclear battery?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

"Not really.  I killed you once.  I'll do it again."  She threw herself at Adam with every attack she could think of.

"When you defeated me it was because of a spell that made you practically invincible."  Adam was blocking and dodging all off Buffy's attack with little effort.  "This time you have no spell and no help."

He punched her in the face with enough force to kill any normal person.  Buffy fell to the ground using all her willpower to keep from passing out from the blow.

Adam picked up Buffy by the hair.  "I would sooner snap your neck than do this but my…associate feels you're worth more to us alive."

----

In all the dimensions of the universe there's one that contains the omnipotent forces known to good and evil alike as The Powers That Be.

Their intentions and goals are unknown to most beings.  There are a select few however, ones that have achieved a higher existence and are thus pressed into services for the Light.

One of these higher being is a recently ascended power known as Cordelia Chase. 

The Powers were caught off guard by her unbending desire to keep ties with the world she had just left and attempt to interfere in it.

They had hoped she would outgrow these unwanted tendencies in time.

They didn't know Queen C like her friends did.

"It's coming.  You can sense it too?"

She was in one the small corners of this dimension with another girl, another like-minded individual who couldn't ignore what was happening on one of the Power's favored worlds.

"Yes.  It's about to start isn't it?"

"Yep another joyful apocalypse in Sunnyhell and we have to avert it."

"Cordelia how are we supposed to so that?  If the Powers know we're directly interfering…"

"We won't."  She interrupted.  "Besides we're not breaking the rules.  We're just…bending them.  My ex down there, let's just say that his habit of sticking his foot in his mouth is going to work to our advantage."

"Cordy don't make me do this.  Remember in this world I'm dead!"

"I know!  And I wouldn't ask you to do this if there were some other way but you know as well as I do that if we don't do something to help out all of them down there will be wiped out.  Now I'll pop in from time to time to help as much as I can but you're gonna be running the show from up here."

She looked down trying not to accept this.  "Fine I'll do it."

"Great!"  Cordy looked relieved.  "Good luck!"

With that Cordelia disappeared.  Her friend looked down into this world.  "Okay.  Guess there's nothing to do but wait."

----

Now I thought that summertime meant a quid pro bono with bad guys that nothing major ever happens this time of year.  So I assumed I could pretty much relax and not have to worry about all the evil and otherwise Hell-mouthy things in Sunnydale.

I was wrong.

Sue me.

Anyhoo here's where it all started...for me at least.  I had just finished the major construction work on the new high school.  I was raking in the cash and my boss gave me the next week off for the great work my crew did.

I hadn't seen Buffy or Dawn in a while.  Or any of the others for that matter.  See I work days and Buffy was teaching Dawn the finer points of slaying at night and thus while I worked they slept and vice-versa.  

After Willow's little rampage Giles took her to England to try and get some control over her abilities.  I've talked with them a few times but they're way out in the middle of nowhere to be alone so I'm not trying to bother them much.

Seeing my oldest friend go nuts like that scared me.  More than you could possibly imagine.  So even though I miss Wills I know this is for the best.

Spike disappeared before Tara died and I can't say I'm too heartbroken he's gone.  Not much more to say about that.

As for Anya...well I'll get to that part in just a sec.

I was winding down after that last workday at Fat Rick's.  It's a bar down on Main St kinda close to the Magic Box.  It's your basic bar with a pool table, darts and most importantly beer.  Everything a young man needs to forget about the world.  Trust me on this one forgetting about Sunnydale takes *alot* of booze. 

"Hey nice shot man!"

"Thanks dude!"

  I was spending most of the night playing pool.  The guy I'm playing with is Oz.  Yeah I know what you're thinking.  It's probably something like: But Xander didn't Oz leave town three years ago?  Well he did but this summer he decided to stop down for a visit.  

He found my place and the first thing he did was give this long drawn out speech about how he had accepted Willow's relationship with Tara and wanted to just catch up what's been going on in Sunnydale.

Oz probably said more words in that twenty-minute span than he did in our entire senior year.  Then I told him what had recently happened.  How Tara died causing Willow to go postal and nearly destroyed the world.  Wanna know what his response was?

"Whoa…"

Oz you're a pal and it's nice to know some things never change. 

Him coming back was perfect timing at least to me it was.  See I was getting pretty damn lonely with everyone else busy and at least now I could hang out with a good friend.  Cause let's face it's better to have a friend around than be alone. 

----

From the other end of the bar.  A drunk, red haired vengeance demon was getting sloshed.

"Another drink."

"Miss that's your fourth shot of Everclear!"

"Just give it to me!"

She downed the shot the bartender gave her and stared at Xander.  "Yeah that's right Xander I'm looking at you!  You no good wedding running…something!"

----

That incredible drunk redhead at the bar slurring with the insults is my ex-fiancée Anya.  I got scared and ran off on our wedding day.  Hey it wasn't totally my fault!  Would it make you feel any better if I said I still feeling guilty as hell about it?  Well I am.  She was already drunk when Oz and I stopped in.  So I just figured I should leave her alone we'll just keep to ourselves for the night.

Of course I forgot Anya gets *really* strange, even more than usual, when she was plastered. 

"So Oz enjoying your extended tour of hell yet?"

"Guess so.  No offense man but I'm almost happy I left when I did.  Buffy and Tara were killed. Everybody else went through a lot of angst the last two years."

"Tell me about it.  You got to leave, in that I envy you to no end."

"Why don't you get out of here too?  I mean Xander haven't you ever wanted to just leave and not worry about coming back?"

That was a really good question.  For six years I never really answered it.  Then again I didn't put much thought into it either.  Of course having a few beers causes you to get slightly buzzed and not worry about what you say.  Anybody could tell you that.  Opening my big mouth...I guess that was first mistake. So as I was lining up the eight ball in the corner pocket I said: 

"You know what I want?  I wanna know before hand when the demon shows up on my wedding day and the Uber-geeks try to kill my friends and all the other crap they try to do so I don't get strung around for months feeling like a moron."

"So you're basically wishing to see the future?"  
"Yeah that'd be nice.  Ah but I guess I'm just ranting.  Hey you wanna get outta here?  Call it a night?"

"Sure."

Little did I know a certain vengeance demon had heard my little rant.  By now Anya's head was spinning around.  She managed to hear me and not knowing any better in a drunken haze muttered "Granted."  A second later her head hit the bar and she passed out. 

----

She couldn't believe it.  It had worked just like Cordelia said it would.

She got ready to do her part.  "Okay Xander, be careful what you wish for."

----

A few steps before Xander made it to the exit his head started spinning.

_He found himself standing in a dark cave.  He looked and saw a scared Dawn a couple of feet to his right._

_"Xander?  What did you do?"_

_He noticed Dawn was looking at something in front of him.  Buffy was sprawled out on the ground, blood was pouring out of a large cut in her midsection.  _

_It was then that realized he was holding something.  He lifted up his right hand to show the sword he was carrying.  One that was covered in blood._

_He dropped it with a look of sheer horror._

----

"Hey man you okay?"

Xander snapped out of whatever haze he was in.  He looked around and attributed his little hallucination to a head rush.

"Yeah I'm fine."

"You sure?"  Oz asked after they walked out of the bar.

"Trust me man I'm fine."

----

From an alleyway in the darkness, a recently souled vampire was watching Xander and Oz walk away.

"It's coming.  It's coming to destroy us all.  It's coming and…and I better make sure my bags are packed."

----

The rest of that night wasn't any better for yours truly.  As soon as I fell asleep I started having a particularly memorable nightmare. 

_----_

_Xander was in front of the Magic Box. He was scanning the area.  Finally he walked into the alley behind it and saw blood everywhere.  It had looked like slaughter had occurred here.  _

_He looked down in a puddle of blood and pulled out a gold necklace._

_----_

_Xander and Oz were now both in the ruined Magic Box.  In front of them was a robed figured who had appeared out of nowhere._

_"Where are they?"_

_"What?  No sarcastic monologue?  Mr. Harris I'm hurt!  You had no idea how much I was waiting for a fellow comedian to engage with!  Add to the fact I could probably kill you in a heartbeat you really don't want to make me upset."_

_----_

_He was back in the dark room.  It was exactly the same as the first time he saw it.  Xander saw the panicked Dawn questioning him and Buffy laying motionless and bleeding to death on the ground.  And again he was holding a blood-covered sword._

_----_

Xander had sweat pouring down his face as he jerked awake in his bed.  He looked around for a few seconds and realized he was just having a nightmare.  He quickly walked into the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face.  

He looked in the living room and saw Oz sound asleep on the couch.  

"Man that was freaky.  I have got to lay off the extra spicy chicken wings that late at night."

----

I didn't go back to sleep that night.  Every time I closed my eyes I kept thinking back to that nightmare.  I guess it's a good thing VH1 still had it's Up All Night Insomniac Music Videos.  

Oz and myself drove over to the Summer's house that morning.  We had been looking forward to this for a long time.  An entire week hanging out just the four of us.  So imagine our surprise when we went into the house and nobody was there. 

"Hello?  Buffy?  Dawn?  It's Xander and Oz.  We've got ice coffee!  Perfect for an eighty-seven degree August morning!  Hello?"

They went upstairs to look.  Xander peeked into Buffy's room.  "She's not here."

Oz likewise looked into Dawn's room.  "Neither is Dawn."

Both of them went back downstairs and searched the house.  They split up and looked in every square foot of the residence.  

Xander met back up with Oz a few minutes later.  "They're not here."

"Yeah I checked the machine and there's messages from last night.  I don't think they came home after patrol."

"Maybe they got up early?  I mean let's not jump to conclusions."

Oz agreed.  "You're right.  They gotta be someplace."

----

"This isn't what I wanted Frankenstein!  The girl's practically dead!"

"You said don't kill them.  They're still breathing.  Why leave her alive?  She's too dangerous to just leave like this!"

"Yeah every time an apocalypse comes along she stops it.  This way with her already here, weak and under control she won't be able to interfere in this chain of events."

Buffy looked around.  The pain shooting through her body was excruciating.  She could see Adam talking with another demon on the far side of a dark cave lit by candles.  Dawn was tied up next to her looking both scared and relieved that her sister was okay.

"She's awake."

The demon walked over to Buffy.  "You're awake.  Want some water?"

Buffy didn't even look at the bottle.

"Yeah you're sister did the same thing.  Don't make this any harder than it has to be."

"Or what?  You'll kill us?"  Buffy spat out.

"Me?  No way!  You have any idea how hard it is to clean blood off this robe?"

Buffy didn't say anything so the demon went on.  "See I know this probably inconvienced you kids but I needed to get you two here somehow.  So I had ol' Butt Face over there bring you here."

"Whatever the hell you are.  I'll stop..."

The demon groaned and put his hands up.  "Please!  Christ you're just like Angel!  I thought it was just part of his tortured soul act.   Ugh that settles it!  Bad guys are much better talkers.  We're better dressers too.  Just look how much better Angelus dressed after you boned him."

"I really didn't want to know that."

"Fine.  Let's go back to you're little belief you'll win.  You can't stop me.  You're so weak you can barely stay conscious and trust me you'll stay that way.  And all of your buddies aren't here.  Well all except Mr. Harris but I have big plans for him."

"Leave him alone!"

Adam finally walked over.  "Let me gut her.  If anything it will shut her up."

"No.  We need her.  And like I said the boy's too important to my plan."  The demon replied.  "Oh let me answer that other question when you asked what the hell I was.  For the record the name's Sahjhan.  And don't get so self-absorbed in your rep Slayer.  I'm not here for you."  He pointed at Dawn.  "I'm here for her."

Sahjhan waved at Adam.  The giant backhanded Buffy in the head and she fell unconscious.  The last thing she heard was Dawn's panicked screams.

----

We looked everywhere that morning.  And when I mean everywhere I'm being serious.  Let's just say I hope sometime in the future I can look back and laugh about getting thrown out of a morgue.

We were running out of options.  The only place we hadn't checked yet was the Magic Box.  It was still a wreck.  Willow's attack had ruined most of the building and Anya hadn't bothered cleaning much of it out yet. 

"Anya's not here?"

"With all the beer she drank last night she'll probably be recovered from the hangover by Labor Day."  Xander told him.

"Good point.  So how'd you get in?"

"I have a spare key.  Anya gave it to me and kinda forgot about it after we split."

He ran around the corner to the side entrance.  As soon as he rounded the corner he stopped and felt sick.

The alley was covered in blood.  "Hey over here!"  He pulled out a gold necklace that spelled Dawn from a puddle of blood near his feet.  

Oz ran over.  He took the necklace from Xander and sniffed it a few times. "Her scents all over this"

Xander replied while not taking his eyes off the necklace.  "Yeah.  This can't be good."   

He quickly realized he had seen this before.  This was exactly what had happened in his dream.

Xander turned even paler than he already was.  

"Xander you okay?"  Oz asked.

It took him a few seconds until he said.  "No.  No I'm not."

One freaky nightmare, right?  So much for that theory.  Well how would you feel if one of your dreams came true?  Not to mention in one of them I saw myself killing my best friend.  But I was still ready to put it off as just a coincidence.  There were more important things in my mind.  Two of my best friends were MIA and I didn't have a clue what was happening.  Of course at this point I had no idea who or what happened to them.  That was about to change.  I wish I knew then of the hell I was about to go through. 

----

TBC


	2. Deja Vu

I'm currently stuck at home with the flu.  On the plus side I have nothing better to do than write.

Ch 2 – Déjà vu

----

In times like these, it helps to recall that there have always been times like these. - **Paul Harvey**

----

Xander rushed back into the Magic Box and started throwing things all over the place looking for some sign of Buffy or Dawn.

"Xander!"  Oz followed him into the store but had no luck getting his friend's attention.  It wasn't until Oz grabbed him by the shirt and pinned him against the wall.  

"Calm.  Down."

"How can I?  You saw that disaster out there!"  
"I know but panicking is the worst thing we could do right now."

Xander seemed to calm down for a second.  "If Buffy and Dawn were taken we don't know where they are or who might've done it.  So what do we do?  "

"I don't know.  What about..."

Xander cut Oz off and nodded in front of him.  Oz turned around and saw Sahjhan standing at the other end of the room.

"Hell of a mess you guys got here.  It's got potential though.  Maybe some spackle and a little dry wall it'll look good as new."

Xander and Oz didn't say anything so Sahjhan kept going.

"That guy that's responsible for your friends missing.  Well that would be me.  See I love this part.  The scene where the good guy meets the bad guy for the first time.  The battles of wits as they go back and forth."

"Where are they?"  Xander told him. 

"Or we could just skip it and move on to the boring part."

"Where.  Are.  They?"

"What? No sarcastic monologue? Mr. Harris I'm hurt! You had no idea how much I was waiting for a fellow comedian to engage with! Add to the fact I could probably kill you in a heartbeat you really don't want to make me upset."  

Oz was next to Xander.  He didn't say a word and seemed to be focused completely on Sahjhan.  Then much to his friend's surprise he morphed into his werewolf form.  The wolf jumped out of what was left of Oz's torn clothing and rushed at Sahjhan.

"Down boy!"  The demon backhanded Oz when the werewolf leapt at him.  Oz was knocked to a wall on the other side of the room.  He slammed against a bookshelf and it along with all the books in it fell on top of him.

Xander swallowed.  He quickly grabbed a sword near him, a leftover from when Willow stormed the Magic Box looking for Andrew and Jonathan, then positioned himself between his friend and Sahjhan.

I never asked Oz how he managed to turn into a werewolf in the middle of the day.  I did remember him saying something along the lines of him being able to transform when he lost control of his emotions.  With so much garbage about vampire in movies and T.V. I just assumed he knew more than I did about the subject.  As for this Sahjhan, he reminded me way too much of the Judge...okay the Judge if he were black and wore a robe.  I had just realized how shortsighted I was all those years ago when I only stole one bazooka.  

"How brave."  The demon rolled his eyes.  "Don't worry there's a reason I haven't bothered killing you or Buck the Dog yet."

"You're just too nice a demon?"

"Ha...funny.  See I knew there was potential in you Xander!  Here's the deal.  Your buddy Angel..."

"He's not my buddy crater face."

"Still...you two have a certain relationship..."

"More like mutual hatred."

"Okay grammar police now you're starting to annoy me.  Stop interrupting!  Bottom line he and I have unfinished business to care of."

"What do want with him?"

"Simple.  Revenge.  Go to L.A. and nag him to death to come back here.  Shouldn't be too hard it's what you do best and I do have his ex-girlfriend all chained up...wow I just had the worst mental image.  Well if you had actually grown a spine six years ago and fought Angel for her you'd probably know what I was talking about.  Of course that Anyanka chick probably did that to you a few times.  Nice call dumping her on wedding day."

Xander didn't reply.  He felt his anger boiling over as he tightened his grip on the sword.

"What?  Nothing to say?  Maybe you are a lost cause.  You've got one day before I start torturing the blond ditz.  Now be a good little Zeppo and do as your told."

After the Zeppo comment Xander rushed at Sahjhan.  The demon smirked and disappeared just as Xander swiped at him with his sword.

That was messed up.  If he wanted to get me going the ugly bastard said all the right things.  He brought up Buffy, Angel and that Zeppo comment was a nice touch.  He also gave me this overwhelming desire to separate his head from his neck. 

Here's the best part:  that second dream I had came true.  I just hope whoever or whatever is doing this sends me Friday's winning lotto numbers.  

So let's recap shall we?  Buffy and Dawn are being held hostage by a wisecracking demon named Sahjhan who has a problem with Angel and told me in the most antagonizing way possible to bring him to Sunnydale or else. 

How was I feeling at this point?  C'mon everyone say it with me! 

"Son…Of…A…Bitch…" Xander scanned the room several times looking for Sahjhan.  After a few minutes he conceded the fact that the demon wasn't there anymore.

Oz started waking up.  He shook his head for a second and looked around.  "Xander?"

The young man quickly regained his composure and ran over to his friend.  "You alright?"

"Not really.  What was that thing?"

"I don't know.  But we know someone who does."

"Great.  Uh Xander?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you find me some clothes?"

----

The Hyperion Hotel was the home of Angel Investigations.  However with the disappearance of both Angel and Cordelia Chase the agency hadn't been in working cases for some time.  

Charles Gunn and Winifred Burkel had spent months trying to find their lost friends.  The problem was neither of them knew the truth that Angel's own son Connor was responsible for his disappearance and was working to make sure they never found the vampire.

"I can't believe that so called 'Truth seer' didn't know where Angel was.  He said he knew were Jimmy Hoffa is and he can't even find one vampire."  A demoralized Fred walked into the main lobby of the hotel with Gunn and Connor following her inside.  "I mean where could they be it's been over two months!"

Connor smirked inwardly.  They had no idea where Angel was and he planned to keep it that way.

"Fred?  Fred wait up."  Gunn caught up to his girlfriend and gave her a reassuring hug.  "We'll find them.  Sooner or later they'll show up."

"I hope so."  She replied after a few seconds.  "Anything in the mail."

He let go of Fred and looked through the various envelopes.  "Well let's see.  Bill.  Bill.  Bill.  Oh hey we might already be a winner."  Gunn rolled his eyes and tossed it over his shoulder.

Fred walked behind the counter and looked at the answering machine.  "Hey somebody called."

She hit play as Gunn and Connor walked over.  

"You Have...Nineteen...New Messages."

The three of them all looked puzzled.

"Hi Angel this is Xander.  We've got a problem in Sunnydale and we need your help.  See what happen is..."

*Beep*

"God you have got to have the shortest time limit in the world.  Buffy and Dawn didn't come back from a patrol.  I think they were kidnapped..."

*Beep*

"For the love of...the demon that kidnapped them said he knew you.  His said if I didn't bring you back by tomorrow he'd kill her."

*Beep*

"C'mon you have to be there!  It's been over an hour why haven't you guys got ahold of me!"

*Beep*

"What's with you Deadboy!  This is Buffy we're talking about!  You know your one and only love blah-blah-blah!"

Gunn hit the stop button.  "I don't think we need to hear any more of that."

"Charles didn't Cordelia say she used to date a guy named Xander?"

"I think so.  Sounds like a strange guy."

"Yeah well it's a strange world."  Xander and Oz were both standing in the doorway of the Hyperion.  

Gunn instinctively held up his axe.  "Who the hell are you?"

"The guy running up your phone bill."

"You're Xander?"  Gunn asked.

"Yup the one and only.  This is my friend Oz."

"Prove it."

"Well let's see.  Cordelia probably complains about how big a mistake she made dating me about...oh I'm guessing at least twelve times a month."

"Thirteen actually."  Gunn smirked.  "We had a pool going in the office.  That still doesn't convince me though."

"Wait I know."  Fred blurted out.  "Come with me."

She ran up the steps to the second floor with everyone behind her.  Fred walked into the one of the hotel rooms while telling everybody.  "We had to move Cordelia's stuff in here."  

Fred went rummaging through one of the boxes and pulled out a photo album.  She rifled through it until she found the page she was looking for.  She turned the album around and pointed to an old picture from graduation day with Buffy, Willow, Xander, Oz and Cordelia in it.

"Cordelia showed this to me once."  Fred looked at Gunn.  "These guys went to school with her.  But I'm just wondering what happened to all the photos of you two when you were dating?"

"Um they were destroyed in a fire."

Hey it was close enough to the truth. 

Gunn took the album alternately looking at the photo and the two men in front of him.  "Okay so maybe you did know Cordy.  So why are you here?"

"I need to talk to Angel it's really important."

Gunn and Fred looked at each other for a moment.  "Uh...well...Angel's not here."

"So when's he coming back?"  Oz and Xander didn't really understand what Fred was talking about.

"Why don't we go downstairs.  This is gonna take a while to explain."  Gunn told them.

Everyone went back downstairs into the lobby.  Xander crashed on the circular couch and pulled out a bottle of water.

"Okay basically what happened is...I really don't know how to put this but...Angel and Cordelia have been missing for over two months."

Fred jumped out of the way as Xander sprayed the water he was drinking all over himself.  "What?"

"They both disappeared at the same time.  We don't have any idea where they are."  

I had just about been ready to blame this entire incident on Deadboy.  Oz must've done 110 mph to get here but sure enough Angel ups and vanishes before I can convienently make him the scapegoat for all the stress I had felt today.  Typical Angel, huh? 

Honestly I was looking forward to being able to dump some of this pressure on him.  I guess I was still alone on this. 

"Well you heard that message, right?  Our friends are being held a demon named Sahjhan.  From what he told me those two have some issues they need to work out."

Gunn and Fred both looked worried by what Xander said.  "Did you say Sahjhan?"

"Yeah I did.  You two know him?"  Xander looked at Connor who was in the background just listening to this new stranger.  "And who are you guys anyways."

Fred gave a weak smile.  "My name's Fred.  This is Charles Gunn and..."

Connor finally spoke up interrupting Fred.  "I'm Connor.  Angel's my father."

The two men from Sunnydale looked incredibly confused.  

"Did you say Angel's son?"

"Geese you mean to tell me all these years Angel's been paying child support?"

Gunn sighed.  "This is gonna take a while."

They spent the next twenty minutes going over what had happened with Connor.  How he had been born then stolen by Holtz to a dimension called Quor-toth.  And only a few days afterwards, which was 16 years in Quor-toth, Connor returned.  They also threw in how Sahjhan masterminded the entire thing.  Now I've heard some weird stuff before but this is pushing it. 

Oz looked at Gunn.  "So Connor is only a few months old?"  

"Yup."

"Weird."

"No kidding."

"Hey isn't Wesley supposed to be here?  What about him?"

"Yeah I've been wondering where is Wes?"  Xander added.

"We didn't to that part yet."  Fred answered.  "Sahjhan tricked Wesley into kidnapping Connor.  He changed one of the prophecies on the Nyazian Scrolls."

"Ny-aza whats?"  

"Xander they were scrolls we recovered that told us about Connor being born but we lost them just before that.  There was a ton of information about prophecies that involved Sahjhan."

"Well...I mean you guys don't have anything from them?  Any notes?  Anything?"

"Wesley was the one who translated them.  I gave most of them to him with his stuff after Angel kicked him out."

"Well where is he?"

"Not here.  Angel kinda made clear if Wes came back he'd kill him.  We tried asking for his help before but he said no."

"Well can Wesley help us?  Seeing as how Angel is on a hiatus I don't know who else could tell me about Sahjhan."

"That's the thing he made it clear he doesn't want to talk to us."

Xander got up from the circular couch.  "Maybe not you.  He didn't say anything about me."

----

Adam was pacing in the cave Sahjhan was keeping Buffy and Dawn in.  Sahjhan seemed calm as he watched the restless demonoid.  

"Adam relax.  Everything's going according to my plan."

"Your plan?"  Adam sneered.  "I don't care about your plan.  You promised I would have my way with the Slayer if I helped you."

"Give it time.  You have to be patient.  Besides..." He walked over and pulled up the head of the still unconscious Buffy.  "...I don't think I should be letting you two play anytime soon."

"The hell with your plan."  Adam went up to Buffy ready to snap her neck.  Just before he grabbed her Sahjhan intercepted him and stuck his hand into Adam's midsection gripping its uranium battery.

The demonoid felt Sahjhan's hold on its power source and stopped dead in its tracks.  

"Understand this Adam.  I fixed you.  I can unfix you just as easily.  You'll get your precious Slayer just be patient."  Adam sneered as Sahjhan kept his grip on the power cell.  "I've waited for this too long to have you go off half cocked and ruin everything.  Get out of here.  Do something in town I don't care as long as you come back level-headed."

Adam seemed to contemplate that statement for a second.  "Very well.  But if you betray me Buffy won't be the only one who dies."

Sahjhan let go of the hybrid demon.  Adam stormed out of the cave a moment later.  

Dawn had watched this entire seen play out.  She didn't say anything out of fear.  She was afraid of what Adam might do to her sister and to her.  She was still afraid of what this demon Sahjhan might do.  

Once Adam had left Sahjhan turned to her.  "Good help is so hard to find these days.  I'm sorry about butt face.  You okay Dawn?"

"No.  Why are you doing this?"

"Well it's pretty complex.  Let me tell you a little story Dawn.  You like stories?"

Dawn didn't say anything.

"Of course you do!  My race…well there's not really a name for us per se but we're considered bringers of chaos.  War, death, destruction were what we did best and we loved it!  Our sole purpose was sewing chaos across the globe."

"Was?"  
"Yes was.  Apparently some higher beings got their panties in a bind and thought we were too dangerous to just leave alone.  They made our entire race non-corporeal.  We couldn't touch anything and objects simply passed through us."

"B-but I don't understand you can touch things!"

"Yeah I have your sister's ex-boyfriend to thank for that."

"Angel." Dawn muttered. 

"Got it in one.  And they say the schools aren't helping kids learn.  Now even though some really powerful bastards did that to us it wasn't permanent.  Over the centuries I came across a ritual that could make my entire race corporeal again.  Problem was you needed a *really* powerful source of energy to make it work.  The answer's obvious: the Hellmouth.  But that's where things go wrong again.  I couldn't control something like the Hellmouth I'd blow myself to China trying.  Then sure enough I heard about this bimbo Glory..."

All the color disappeared from Dawn's face.  "You knew Glory?"  
"Sure did.  Bitch couldn't suck out my noggin considering she couldn't touch me.  Had one hell of a fashion sense though.  Anyways she tried to focus a source of energy, the Key, to open a dimensional portal.  Then I thought 'Of Course!' using the Key I could focus the Hellmouth long enough to channel the energy needed."

Dawn was all the verge of crying.  Sahjhan was looking full of himself.  With a smile he told the girl.  "Dawn I know what you're thinking.  You're probably telling yourself you're human and not The Key.  Well I got news for you sweetie.  You can sugarcoat it all you want but all you are is a mystical source of energy that does nothing but bring death and destruction to everything you touch."

"I AM NOT!"

"Yes you are squirt.  This ritual's so powerful it'll turn most of Southern California into a parking lot.  Least Vegas'll still be there.  God I love that city."  The demon knelt down until he was eye to eye with Dawn.  "See you're gonna help me do it.  All those deaths, all that carnage it'll all be on your hands."

Dawn started crying as Sahjhan turned away from her.  

"Buffy..." Dawn muttered looking at her sister with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"How many times do I have to say this?  She won't be saving you. Oh but don't worry I'll make sure she's awake when it all happens."

----

"This is the place, right?"

"Well according to Fred's directions it is."

Oz went to knock on the door to Wesley's apartment only to have somebody open it from the inside.

Lilah looked at the two surprised men.  She looked at them and chuckled.  "Wes you've got visitors."

Xander couldn't help but stare at the tall brunette as she walked by them and down the hall.

In that ten second span my opinion of Wesley skyrocketed.  I was expecting the English dork from Sunnydale.  Boy I was in for a surprise. 

Wesley walked into view from the doorway as he was putting on a t-shirt.  It was starting to become obvious what he had been doing with Lilah.  "Alexander Harris.  You're quite possibly the last person I ever expected to see at my door."

----

While Xander was meeting with Wesley the group from Angel Investigations went back to what was Sahjhan's chamber.  All the torches were out and thus Fred, Gunn and Connor were searching through the room with flashlights.

Connor looked like he didn't want to be there.  "What exactly are we looking for?"

"A reticulin urn.  Looks like a really ugly vase."  Gunn told him.

Angel's son groaned.  "I don't understand why we're doing this.  This isn't our problem."

Before Gunn could answer Fred yelled, "Over here!" 

Gunn and Connor ran over to her.  

"You found it?"  
"What's left of it."  
Gunn shined his flashlight to where Fred's was pointing.  The Reticulin Urn was shattered.  

"Sahjhan's loose..."

"...and there's no Angel to help us."  Gunn finished Fred's statement.  "The prophecy said the son of a vampire will kill Sahjhan."

They both looked at Connor.  Connor just looked confused.

"Huh?"

---

TBC

Next Chapter:  Wesley gives Xander an ultimatum for his help.  And just how did Sahjhan escape from the urn?


	3. It Takes A Thief

Okay I finally got this part cranked out.  It's close to 7000 words so it about doubled the story length.  

In regards to what some of you guys commented about.  I figured I'd add my two cents since you guys were kind enough to review:

RobClark:  Who says Xander gets to be the Power's butt monkey?  Quite the opposite.  You're going to find out the Powers (Read: Cordelia) need him more than he needs them.

AngelaM:  Yeah it's Tara but of course with anything there's a catch.  

Obsidian:  Ascend?  Let's not get too carried away...then again if it happened to Cordelia...Oh as for her I get this strange feeling the PTB (to say nothing of Xander) would not be happy if/when they found out.  Of course that isn't going to stop her from pushing the envelope even further.  

White Werewolf:  I'm probably going to send an email to you about that soon.

Bare in mind to everybody this won't be a 'Super Xander' story.  Yes it's a power per-se but he doesn't want it, doesn't like it and is too afraid to tell anyone about it since he needs their help and doesn't want to be labeled insane.

On that note as the fic goes on, I wonder what Anya would do if she remembers what she did?

Thanks to all you guys for the reviews and they're always appreciated.  

As for this chapter I had to cut the part about how Sahjhan escaped out of this section or else it would've been huge.  Sorry about that.  It'll be its own standalone for chapter 4, it's already about 3/4 done.  I might have it done by late next week.(I go for my certification test in Oracle on Monday so I'll be swamped this weekend).

----

Ch 3 - It takes a thief...

----

Thieves respect property; they merely wish the property to become their property that they may more perfectly respect it.   
-- _C.K. Chesterton __ (The Man Who Was Thursday, 1908)_

NOOO!!!! -- _Me at 1:35 a.m. on Saturday after my HD gave out losing everything except this story and my copy of 'Who Are You'.  _;)

---- 

Wes stared at his two visitors for a short while after Lilah had left.  

Xander tried to break the ice.  "It's been...years since I last saw you.  You look good."

Wesley looked very different to them.  The glasses and meticulously clean suit were replaced by a more rugged, dirtier exterior as shown by the blue jeans and white t-shirt he had on.  

"Yes.  It has.  What are you doing here?"    
"It's a long story.  Can we come in?"  

"Actually no."  They would also soon find out the I-don't-give-a-damn attitude instead of the almost fanatical devotion to rules and tradition Wes had from Sunnydale.  

"A little hostile are we?"  Xander pointed out.

"You would be too. You must understand this is a surprise seeing the both of you here.  I never expected to either of you again.  Why are you here?"  He calmly but firmly asked again.  Then he decided to answer his own question.  "No wait.  You don't know where I live so someone must told the both of you.  Gunn and Fred?"

Xander nodded.

"So obviously you came to Los Angeles for something.  Not to make a courtesy call."

"Right.  See what happened is..."

"You came looking for Angel."  He interrupted Xander with his own idea of why they were visiting.  "And when you realized both he and Cordelia were missing you just decided to settle for me.  Am I right?"

"Uh no!  We jumping to conclusions a little to fast, Wes?"

"Not really.  Why should I care what you want?  Give me one good reason."

"Does the name Sahjhan ring a bell?"  They were both getting annoyed with Wesley's attitude as the former Watcher could tell by the change in tone of Xander's voice.

I noticed Wes flinch for a second when I mentioned that name.  Though he seemed to recover quickly enough.   "He kidnapped Buffy and Dawn.  Told me if I didn't bring Angel to Sunnydale he'd kill them."

"Impossible."  Wes blurted out without even thinking.  "His essence is trapped in a reticulin urn."

Oz finally joined the conversation replying "Yeah so we've heard.  But it's him we're sure of it."

"How do you know that?  It could've been any one of Sahjhan's race.  You're acting on circumstantial evidence."

This wasn't going anything like Xander had hoped.  

"You must understand what I'm thinking right now.  Two men who did nothing but snicker and say how much of an idiot I was in Sunnydale.  And now you two expect me to help you?  Don't waste my time."

He went to slam the door in their face but Xander put his hand up to stop it.  "Wes come on!  We didn't come all the way here just to have you take potshots at us!  You want me to say it?"

"No.  Do you really think I'm going to just drop everything on a whim?  Even this is Sahjhan how do you plan on stopping him?  Have you even thought about it?"

Oz threw up his hands.  "This is pointless.  C'mon Xander let's get out of here."

They turned to walk away but Xander stopped Oz and walked right up to Wesley getting right into his face.

"You know what?  You're right you were an idiot.  You were a bumbling, clueless idiot who did absolutely nothing of value when you were in Sunnydale.  But you were an idiot who cared.  Which is a lot more than I can say for the guy in front of me now."

Ladies and gentlemen I'd like to thank the academy. 

He turned and walked away joining his friend.

"You know I had a theory..." Wesley yelled at them.

Both of the young men stopped but didn't turn around.

"...I had a theory that Sahjhan only changed the one prophecy he used to trick me.  If who you're talking about really is Sahjhan then those scrolls are the key to finding out what his intentions are."

"Didn't Fred say you translated most of it already?"

"Only the prophecies dealing with Connor.  Wolfram & Hart, a law firm stole them before I could finish translating the entire collection." 

Wesley walked toward them.  "Are you serious about wanting to stop Sahjhan?"

Both men looked ready to shoot him.

"Do you really need us to answer that?"  Oz stated the obvious.

"Then you'll need those scrolls.  You remember that woman who walked out of here when you arrived?"

Xander nodded.

"Her name is Lilah Morgan.  The scrolls are somewhere in her office at that law firm."  
"And you know this how?"  

He smiled.  "Well Xander she talks in her sleep.  You want to prove to me you're serious about this?  Bring me those scrolls.  Don't come back without them."  

More efforts to convince Wes to forget the scrolls resulted in a door being slammed in our faces.  We took the hint and left.  

----

After that *wonderful * conversation with Wes, Oz and myself hightailed it back to the Hyperion.  We needed to compare notes with Fred and Gunn about what their former colleague wanted.  

"Okay so where did they go?"  Xander said as he cluelessly looked around the empty lobby.

"Beats me."  Oz said.

Of course it would help if the people we were looking for were actually there.  It's like they didn't want to be with me.  Me!  Who wouldn't want to be around me?  Thankfully they finally did show up a couple minutes later. I did notice they were covered in dirt like they were in a cave. 

"Where were you guys?"  Oz asked.

Gunn told them as they walked down the stairs in the entrance.  "Checkin out where we left Sahjhan's urn.  You guys were right he's loose.  The urn's in a dozen pieces.  So did Wes give you the cold shoulder?"  

"Well kind of."  Xander admitted.  "You know those scrolls Fred mentioned?"

"Yeah?"

"Wesley said if we got those scrolls he'd help us."

"Um...hate to break it to you Xander but we don't know what happened to the scrolls."  Fred failed to add that part in the story previously so she was filling it in.

Xander told them.  "Apparently Wes did.  He said they were in a safe in someplace called Wolfram and Hart."

"You're kidding?"  Fred looked very afraid Xander was going to say no.

"Sorry.  That's what he told us.  So we need to get them."

"Xander you really think you can just waltz in there and take them?"

"Well we have to do something."  Was the reply she got from him.  

"You're crazy." The girl exclaimed.  "Charles tell them they're crazy."

"Well Fred if you think about it..."  Her boyfriend started.

"CHARLES!"

"You heard the lady yer nuts!"

"No we're not!"  Oz shot back.  Xander looked somewhat surprised at his outburst.  "Look we don't have any other option so we're are going to that law firm.  We could really use your help."

This entire time Connor hadn't said anything.  But Oz's comment gave him an idea.  

He didn't care about these two.  From everything he saw they weren't warriors like him.  They just seemed like clueless idiots.

However, every day that went by he saw Gunn and Fred getting closer and closer to finding where he buried Angel in the ocean.  Sooner or later they would find him.  Now these two from Sunnydale gave him the perfect opportunity to set their focus somewhere else and not on his father.

"Well I think we should help them."   Connor announced to the entire room.

Gunn's head shot back.  "Say what?"

"Well...I mean they need our help like Oz said.  And after all this guy Xander was a friend of my fathers."

"I was?"  Xander looked very confused but regained his composure quickly enough to jump at this opening.  "I mean of course I was!  Yeah my and Dead...you're dad go way back!  The stories I could tell you about him!"

Connor made a mock smile and pretended to be genuine.  "That would be great.  So that settles it.  We're helping them."

Gunn admitted.  "If Sahjhan did get a get out jail free card he's gonna come after us sooner or later.  Maybe we should help."

Fred still wasn't convinced this wasn't anything more than a deathtrap.  "No!  This is insane!  You're all going to get killed."

----

Wesley was sitting in a chair in his living room.  He didn't move as the phone rang and his machine picked up. He just kept reading from one of his old books.  

He heard Xander's voice on the other end.

"I know you're there Wesley.  Listen the other's at the Agency found Sahjhan's urn shattered.  He's loose in Sunnydale.  So yes we need your help.  Since you left Oz and myself no other choice we're on our way to this law firm now."  He could hear Fred voicing her disapproval in the background.  "This better not be some wild goose chase you're sending us on."

Wes turned to the page on his book.  On the corner of the page was a drawing of a member of Sahjhan's race.

----

Xander hung up the phone behind the lobby desk.  "Well either Wes isn't there or he just didn't pick up.  I'm guessing the latter."

He walked back to the couch where Fred was sitting.  "Okay Fred.  What's so bad about this place?"

"You don't know do you?"  
"Not really.  So enlighten me.  What's so bad about Wolfram and Hart?"  He asked again.

"They've been trying to corrupt Angel for over three years.  This isn't just some law firm you see on infomercials.  They deal in the supernatural."

"So I'm guessing this doesn't sound as easy as I'm making it out to be?"  
"They've tried to kill us all several times.  If it were so easy to stop them do really think Angel would've had so much trouble against them?"

"She does have a point Xander."  Gunn added.  "It's not like we can just waltz in there.  Lilah will have our heads."

"Lilah?"  Oz asked.

"Yeah Lilah Morgan.  She's the one whose head of all this at the firm."

Xander and Oz looked at each other.  We had both come to the same conclusion.  Lilah in effect was the Big Bad of L.A. and Wes was in all odds banging her.  Strangely enough it didn't seem like Gunn and Fred knew.  

This reeked of a trap.  There were two scenarios playing out in my mind.

Either Sahjhan sent both of us to L.A. into the waiting hands of Angel's worst enemies in some twisted attempt to get even with Deadboy.  The Problem with this was Wesley and Lilah seemed genuinely surprised we were there…or that they were faking it.

Or the other scenario, the one I was hoping for but seemed a very distant possibility, is that just maybe neither Wes or Lilah knew about what was happening in Sunnydale and thus were just as clueless as we were about Sahjhan's plan.

Either way I couldn't go back to Sunnydale empty handed.  I was too afraid of the consequences of that.  

So I was trapped.  We had to go through with this whether we liked it or not. 

I had realized that Sahjhan had manipulated me to do this and I fell for it for it hook, line and sinker.  Though I was beginning to wonder if he knew about Angel missing.  It turns out even Sahjhan's plan may have hit a snag. 

"Fred."  Xander sat down next to her on the couch.  "Buffy is one of our oldest friends and Dawn is just a kid.  Please, help us find a way to get the scrolls."

----

Fred did say yes.  She reminded me alot of Willow.  Maybe that's why I seemed to like her on instinct.  Gunn seemed pretty cool too.  I knew why Angel trusted these people.  

As for his son…well you'll see.

It had taken awhile to get all the stuff we might've needed for sneaking into this law firm.  I didn't understand why it looked they were getting an arsenal together for this.  Then Angel's crew filled in the rest of the blanks about W and H.  

I almost wished they didn't.  I was expecting a few security guards not an army.

One thing we all agreed on.  We needed to scope this place before trying anything.  

A gray van pulled up to across the street from the offices of Wolfram & Hart.  Inside were five people ready to take on the impossible.

"So this is it?"  Xander looked out the window.  "This place doesn't look too bad."

"You know what they say about appearances."  Gunn replied.

"Right.  Well I'll be right back."

"Whoa where you going?"  The black man yelled as Xander opened the back door and walked toward the building.

Gunn was about to go after him but Fred stopped him.  "Wait!  If they see one of us they'll know something's wrong."

"He is crazy.  Oz he ain't going inside, is he?"

The silence from the driver didn't help Gunn's blood pressure.

----

He was actually in the alley of the building.  There was another guy in there trying to get a lighter working.

"Hey man you got a light?"  

Xander started fumbling around his pockets for a light.  "Uh...yeah somewhere.  Say you work here?"

"Yeah I empty the trash for the jerks upstairs."

"That's what I figured."  

A left hook impacted the guy's face and he fell to the ground unconscious.

----

Xander opened the door to Oz's van holding a pair of coveralls.  "I have an idea."

----

"So Xander how's the new wardrobe?"  

"I'm a janitor.  I'm sure my parents are so proud I made it this far in life."  He deadpanned.

A few minutes after he cold-cocked the janitor, Xander was trying to fit into his uniform that was a few sizes too small.

He finally managed to zip up the front exhaling to let his gut out as he did.

Fred handed him a small earpiece.  "Put this in your ear.  It'll let me talk with you and point you in the right direction toward Lilah's office."

"You sure?"

"Don't worry it's so small they'll never see it."

"What about security?"

She looked back at her laptop as she talked.  "I hacked into the cameras.  The guards'll see a looped video on their monitors so nobody'll see you but us.  Just act like you belong there.  You should be fine."

Xander pulled out the security pass he took off the janitor.  Pulling a photo from himself out of his wallet he attached it to the pass.  It wouldn't pass a close inspection but it was better than nothing.  

"You ready for this?"

Like it mattered.  I don't know who was crazier.  Me for agreeing to do this or Wesley for getting me killed.  

"Yeah I'm ready.  Fred tell me again why I was elected to play commando?"

"Because you're the only person who hasn't been around Angel in L.A. the last three years."  She replied.

"Um what about Oz?"

"Gem of Amara ring a bell?"  Oz pointed out.

He thought about that for a second then muttered.  "You right bastard..."  

"You don't seem too convinced this is going to work.  So why'd you insist on doing it?"

"Well Fred it's not like we had a choice.  As for not thinking it'll work..."  Xander snorted a laugh.  "...well that's the beauty of being a pessimist.  You're either always right or pleasantly surprised."

Gunn gave him some advice.  "Dude just act like you belong.  They'll notice if you seem out of place.  Angel did the same thing a few years back."

Xander pointed at the nametag.  "Was he a janitor?"

"Ah actually he dressed up as a lawyer"

"Right."  Why didn't I think of that? 

The van pulled about a block away from Wolfram & Hart and parked about a block farther down the road.  Xander got out and walked the short distance into the building.  

He was visibly sweating at this point and extremely nervous about this entire plan.  Just before he got to the building he wiped off his forehead and took a deep breath.  

"Well here goes nothing."  He muttered. 

Xander casually strolled through the main entrance and swiped his security pass to get in.  After a second a feint beep was heard and the guard nodded indicating he could pass.  

"You're in."

Xander nearly jumped at the voice before realizing it was Fred communicating through his earpiece.  A few people stared at him for that so he just put his head down and kept walking remembering what Gunn told him.  

"Okay Xander.  You're gonna want to go the third floor.  That's where Lilah's office is located.  Just get up there and I'll tell you where to go."

That was the easy part.  Hit a button on an elevator and go inside it.  

The elevator car was empty except for him and an attractive young female paralegal that walked in just before the door closed.

Xander smiled.  "Hey."

The girl turned her head the other way pretending to ignore him.  He could hear Fred snickering in his ear.

The girl got off on the second floor.  She almost didn't wait for the doors to open as she dashed out.

Xander looked toward the ground shaking his head a few times.    
My ego wasn't great to begin with after Sahjhan and that little episode didn't help. 

When the elevator reached the third floor, Gavin Park just happened to be walking by the elevator.  As the door slid open he noticed Xander and pointed. 

"You."

Xander looked around to see if he was talking to anybody else.  When he saw nobody else he pointed at himself with a confused look.  "Me?"

"Yes you.  Do you know who I am?"

Didn't you play an Agent on 24?  Wait you were the first officer on Babylon 5 Crusade!  I loved that series!  

"I'm Gavin Park. I'm a lawyer here."

Yeah of course that was my second guess...

"Come with me."

Gavin brought Xander to his office.  There was empty liquor bottles and papers all over the place.

"I had some guests here last night.  I want you to clean everything up in here since I have a very important client coming in half an hour.  I've already taken the liberty of getting you a cleaning cart."

Gavin's tone of voice made it clear he felt Xander was completely beneath him as he motioned toward the cart.  "Am I making myself clear?"

"Uh...yes sir?"

"Good."

The lawyer walked out.  Xander scowled then looked around the plush office.  An idea popped into his head and the scowl was replaced by a evil grin.

----

Xander walked out of Gavin's office a few minutes later.  

"What were you doing in there?"

He smiled, looked at the camera and mouthed 'Don't ask.' to it.

"Fine.  Lilah's office is down the hall.  Make a right and it should be the third door.  You're gonna have to find the scrolls yourself when you get in there.  There's no cameras installed in that office."

He followed Fred's directions and found himself in front of a door with the nameplate 'Lilah Morgan'.  He turned the doorknob only to find out it was locked.

Thankfully I still had the janitor's key ring, which was left convieniently in his pocket 

He pulled out the key ring and tried a key in the lock.  It didn't fit.

He flipped to the next key.  This one didn't work either.  "No."  

Or the third.

"No."

Or the fourth.

"No."

Well you get the idea.  That kept going on for a while and I had lost count how many keys I had tried using.  Finally one of the in the middle worked.  I was just happy nobody was walking around the hall at that point.  Especially when I yelled: 

"YES!"

I had to admit Lilah's office was really nice.  Everything in there screamed expensive.  So much for the idea crime doesn't pay, right? 

"I could live in this place."  He said aloud.  "If I made it this far the scrolls can't be that tough to find."

That was quite possibly the stupidest thing I said during this entire ordeal. Then again how was I suppose to know? 

Xander quickly went through anything in the office that might resemble the Nyazain Scrolls Wesley needed.  He went through each of the filing cabinets practically emptying them onto the floor.  When he didn't find them there he went through the bookcases next and then the shelves after that.  

He really wasn't worried about appearances and just kept throwing things everywhere.  He was however getting more and more nervous as time went on.

"It's not here.  Where the hell is it?!?"

He went through Lilah's desk taking a brief second to admire what he probably couldn't buy on a year's salary at his job.  He went through every compartment and still couldn't find what he needed.

By now Xander was getting pretty upset as evident when he kicked the side of Lilah's desk in frustration.  He leaned against it as he rubbed his eyes.  "I'm not gonna to find them."

----

This wasn't acceptable. 

He was so close but he wouldn't be able to find the scrolls.  

He would fail.  

Everything they were working for would be ruined. 

She had to do something to stop it.

----

As Xander wallowed in his coming defeat a wave of vertigo went through his head.  He grabbed the top of his head and shut his eyes in pain.  "Oh crap!"

_Xander saw himself pulling away the painting behind Lilah's desk.  Behind it was a safe.  He quickly entered the combination for it and pulled out the Nyazian scrolls after opening the door._

----

Xander shook his head and opened his eyes.  

"No way.  This is crazy."

He slowly walked to the painting and sure enough it pulled away to reveal a safe.  

"There is no way..."  Xander spun the tumbler on the safe door.

"...that this is going to work."   He started dialing the combination.  16....

"No way in hell."

25...

"I mean this is crazy.  I must've had one hell of an acid trip to think I could open this damn thing."

34...

"This just doesn't happen to me I mean weird crap like this happens to Buffy or Wills but not me."

He finished the combination and turned the handle fully expecting it not to budge.  Instead he heard a loud click and the safe swung open.  The young man just blankly looked ahead at the now open safe. 

Usually when somebody overcomes impossible odds they make some great quote. One small step for man...I regret I only one life to give for my country...that type of thing.  Of course this is me we're talking about. 

"No fuckin way…"

I figured at this point I had just entered the Twilight Zone.  Appropriate that the show usually had a bad ending like what was about to happen to me in about a day or so.  Cue the spooky music any time now. 

He threw the scrolls into a backpack he was carrying under the coveralls and got out of there.

----

The others were waiting in Oz's van.  It had been over twenty minutes since Xander entered Wolfram & Hart and he had been in Lilah's office for over ten.  As expected all of their nerves were on edge.  Everyone except Connor who didn't fully realize the dangerous situation they were in.

"Is he out yet?"  Gunn asked his girlfriend.

"Charles he's still in Lilah's office.  Same as when you asked thirty seconds ago…wait a sec.  I've got Xander on the cameras!  He's walking out with something I think he found them!"

"Hey guys!"  Oz yelled from the front.  

Gunn leaned over the front seat.  "What's up?"

Oz pointed toward the building.  Lilah Morgan was walking down the street and heading into the building.

"Oh shit."  The black man groaned.

Oz added.  "My thoughts exactly.  If she goes in there and sees Xander or her office broken into we are so screwed."  

"I got an idea."  Gunn told him as he headed toward the back door of the van.  "Oz keep the engine going.  Connor you're with me."

----

Xander heard Fred's nervous voice in his earpiece.  "Xander!  Lilah is on her way inside.  Get out of there right now!"

"Why can't anything in my life go smoothly?"  He said to no one in particular as he opened the door to the third-story stairwell.

----

Just as Lilah entered the lobby of Wolfram & Hart she felt somebody grab her shoulder.  She was pulled around and found herself facing Charles Gunn.

"Where is he Lilah?"  He demanded.

"Where's who?"  She asked annoyingly.

"You know what I mean!  Where's Angel!"

Connor joined in the act.  "Yeah where's my father?"  

The irony wasn't lost on young Connor.

"What you can't find Brood Boy so you're down to threatening other people.  Sorry boys look somewhere else I don't know where he is."

Gunn got right in Lilah's face.  "I'm not leavin till I find out where you put him."  

"Oh really?"  After that she yelled.  "SECURITY!" 

Four guards surround Gunn and Connor.  Gunn needed to buy Xander enough time to get out of the law firm.  So far he was doing okay but it wasn't enough.  

So Gunn punched the closest guard.  The other three rushed at them with both of the guys fighting anything that came near them.

Connor stomped one in the knee and as his leg gave out he was on the connecting end of a right cross. 

The other guard by Gunn landed several punches on his opponents' face but Gunn managed to give a low blow to the guard and he dropped to the ground in pain.

"Yeah that all you rent-a-schmucks got?"  Gunn kept up the act and was goading the last guard.  That guard pulled out his baton and kept his distance waiting for backup.

----

Xander saw the fight going on as he walked out of the stairwell.

I made a mental note of thanking Gunn later.  I knew I liked that guy! 

With his head down, Xander started slowly walking around the fight out the door.  As he was making his way out close to a dozen security guards surrounded both Connor and Gunn.  The two started attacking anything within arms reach in a wild melee.  Unfortunately Connor got a little too carried away and punched the closest person next to him.  

Which just happened to be Xander walking past them.  

He took the punch and fell face first into the floor next to Lilah.  

After that security guards swarmed the two men.  It took no less than eight guards, four on each guy, to subdue them.

"Get them out of here!"  Lilah yelled.  They carried both of them out and threw them onto the pavement outside.

Lilah looked up and rubbed her neck.  She looked down at the janitor Connor decked.  "You alright?"

The janitor got up and came face to face with the same woman he saw when he arrived at Wesley's apartment.

"You."

"Oh crap."  

Xander grabbed the bag on the floor with the scrolls then made a mad dash for the door when he realized Lilah recognized him.  All the while gut checking the lone guard in his way.

"Stop him!  Lock the door!"  She yelled.

The guards hit the button for the button lock but Xander managed to get through just before it did.  As he ran down the street the guards got the door back open and chased him into the street.

The back door to Oz's van flew open and Gunn was there with his hand outstretched.  He pulled Xander in as soon as he was close and the van took off leaving the guards far behind.

----

"You got them?"  Fred wondered as they pulled away.

"Think so.  These the right scrolls?"  Xander tossed the backpack to Fred as he rubbed his jaw.  
She looked inside to verify it.  "Yeah these are it!  How'd you find them?"

What was I supposed to say?  I found a locked safe and guessed the tumbler combination on the first try after I had a vision seeing what the combination was that resulted from making a wish in front of a drunk vengeance demon?

Hell **I** wouldn't believe that line of tripe either. 

"They were laying around in her office."  He lied.

"So everything's good?"

"Just one thing."  As soon as he finished talking he punched Connor in the jaw.  Hard.  

Connor took the punch then dove at Xander.  Both of them had to be separated by Gunn.

"What was that for!?!"  

"You don't attack somebody on your side you idiot!"

"Hey you wanted it to be believable, right?"

"That doesn't mean going skit-so on me!"

They were so loud people outside could hear the two arguing.  Oz sighed and tried to get to Wesley's as soon as possible.

I was really starting to dislike Connor at this point.  This kid was being arrogant and selfish and gave me this really annoying feeling in my stomach.  

Yup this kid was definitely Deadboy's son. 

----

Gavin walked back into his office sometime later with his client. The words 'SCREW YOU' in big, black letters were spray painted onto the expensive far wall of his office. 

Gavin's face went bright red.  Xander would've been proud of his work.

----

Meanwhile, Lilah was in the security's camera room trying to figure out why Xander had broken into her office.  

"Ma'am the cameras were looped.  Somebody hacked into them.  We're bringing the actual video footage up now."

She watched the next ten minutes of footage as Xander snuck into her office up to the point where they bumped into each other.

"Stop the tape."  The video was stopped on a clear view of the boy's face.  "I want a cropped printout of his face.  We have to find out who he is."

"Yes ma'am."  The guard replied.  

She pulled out her cell phone and dialed Linwood's extension.  "Sir we have a situation."

----

There was a loud banging on Wesley's apartment door.  When the door was fully open Xander forcefully shoved a backpack with the Nyazian scrolls into his chest.

"Satisfied?"  The harsh tone of his voice and the angry look by both himself and Oz made it clear they weren't happy about their previous errand for the former watcher.

Wesley unzipped it and peeked inside.  "Yes...well these seem to be in order."  He reached to the side of the door and pulled out a large duffel bag.  

Oz arched an eyebrow.  "Looks like you've been ready to go for awhile."

"We would need those scrolls you recovered.  I couldn't walk into Wolfram and Hart without being detained.  I needed somebody who they wouldn't know or recognize.  Since both of you weren't from L.A. you had the best chance of getting the scrolls."

"So you used us?"  Oz stated.  
"No.  This is the one lead we need to finding out what Sahjhan has planned."  
"We?"  
"I'm coming with you to Sunnydale."  Wesley's statement didn't leave any room for doubt.

"What happened to don't waste my time?"  Xander demanded.  

It was a reasonable question.  "With everything's that happened lately I haven't been in the most trusting mood.  But believe me.  I'll help you stop Sahjhan."

"Okay.  Then understand this."  Xander tried to stay calm but couldn't hide the anger in his voice.  "Fred, Gunn and Connor offered to go with to help find Buffy and Dawn and we said yes.  You don't like it?  Tough."

Yeah I could've lost my best chance at getting to the bottom of this mystery.  But you know what?  I didn't really care at this point. I did know if Wes shrugged me off after jumping through his hoops Connor wouldn't have been the only one I knocked out. 

Wesley just nodded at Xander.  "Fair enough.  Just let me take care of something.  I'll meet you at the hotel in half an hour."

The former Watcher went back into his apartment closing the door behind him.  He opened his closet door revealing a shackled and gagged Justine.  He undid the gag to make sure she could talk.  "Just thought I'd let you know I'm leaving town for a few days."

Justine got nervous.  "You can't just leave me here I'll starve!"

"Good point."  He calmly went over to the refrigerator and pulled a slice of cold pizza out then brought it over and dropped it on the floor in front of her.

"That's all?"

"Make it last."  Wes coldly told her.  He closed the door to the soundproof room drowning out the screams and obscenities directed toward him.

----

Lilah's office was a disaster area.  Everything was thrown all over the place.  She was in the entrance to the office with two armed guards to make sure there were no surprises.

"Sweep the room for bugs.  He might've left something in here."

"Yes Ma'am."  One of the guards pulled a large device out a bag and began going over the walls and furniture.

"This place is a mess."  Lilah fumed.  "Kid could've at least cleaned up after himself."

She walked over to her desk and began cleaning up the papers scattered all over it.  Some of the things on here were of some value to her so she decided to lock them up.  She pulled back the painting behind her desk.  That's when she noticed it. 

The safe wasn't closed.  Its door was slightly open.  

Now she was worried.  There were very important documents in that safe.

Lilah quickly pulled the door open and took an inventory of everything in there.  She could only find one thing missing.

The Nyazian Scrolls.

The Useless Nyazian Scrolls.

Scrolls that Sahjhan had specifically altered to trick Wesley into kidnapping Connor.  They had no real value to them.

"Everything else in here is worth millions."  She didn't trust putting them in the vault downstairs after Angel and Lindsey had broken into it two years ago.  "But yet he steals the one thing in my safe that's worthless?  This doesn't make any sense."

Lilah turned around and picked up the photo of Xander she left on her desk.  "Who are you?  I know you know Wesley but there's no chance he'll tell me your name."

The guard sweeping the room got her attention.  "Ma'am this room's clean.  There's no bugs in here."

"Good.  If you find anything else let me know."

"He walked in here and took the most worthless thing I had.  Didn't even leave a listening device or take anything else."  She tried to figure out how to identify her intruder as the security guards walked out.  Then it came to her.  

The Records Department.

"Oh god not there..."

----

Wesley showed at the Hyperion Hotel about thirty minutes later just as he told Xander and Oz.  He found the two of them in the lobby along with the other three members of Angel Investigations.  

Gunn was the first person to get up.  "So Xander says you're coming with us.  Why the sudden change of heart?  You wanted nothing to do with us all summer."

"I have my reasons."  Wesley's answer was short and to the point.  
"Bullshit."  Was the reply he got from Gunn.  "You just want to get Sahjhan."

Gunn's statement rang very close to the truth.  They all knew that.  

Wes didn't deny it.  "A healthy dose of revenge can be a good thing.  I need you and Fred to help me take care of something here.  Xander, how long ago did Sahjhan appear to you?"

"About 9 o'clock.  That gives us about sixteen hours before craterface thinks I'm bringing back Angel."

"Go.  Take Connor with you.  We'll leave here as soon as possible.  It shouldn't take long."

"What if he shows up wondering where Angel is?"  

"Just introduce him to Connor.  Trust us on this one."

That wasn't exactly the most reassuring thing to hear.  What was this kid supposed to do talk Sahjhan to death?  Frankly I didn't care.  My main goal was still finding a way to save my two friends. 

"Right...I wrote down my number and how to get to my apartment.  We'll meet you there."

----

Wolfram & Hart kept a massive and in-depth amount of records involving Angel.  It contained everything from his life in Ireland before becoming a vampire, to Sunnydale and everything in between and afterwards.

Lilah had spent hours sifting through the records trying to find out the identity of Daniel Holtz.  Only to find out the clerk in the department was part-demon and contained everything in the room in her head.

As she walked into the Records Department she came up to the clerk and handed her the printout.  "I need to know who this is.  He may be connected to Angel."

"Well there may be something in the records about this.  Let me get you the directory."  The clerk started.

"This can't wait and I know you have all the records in your head!" Lilah took a deep breath trying to stay calm.  "Look I don't like you and you don't like me so just tell me what I want to know and we can go back to pretending we don't exist to each other."

"Fine."  The clerk looked at the photo and her eyes began to flutter.   "Harris, Alexander Lavalle.  22 years of age.  Born and resides in Sunnydale, California."

"Sunnydale?  What the hell's he doing in L.A.?"  She paced around the room taking that in.  

Somebody from Sunnydale.  That meant he probably did have something to do with the Slayer and thus Angel.  Lilah was right. There was more to this than she thought.

"Tell me more."

"March 17, 1996:  Alexander Harris befriends Buffy Summers on her first day at school in Sunnydale.  The two become close friends."

"May 21, 1996: Successfully revives the Slayer after she was left for dead by Master Vampire Heinrich Joseph Nest."

"September 7, 1996..."

"That's all well and good but what does that have to do with this?"  Lilah interrupted.  "Just tell me how this Alexander Harris is related to Angel."

"Constantly referred to Angel as 'Deadboy'.  Was in competition with Angel over the affections of Buffy Summers.  Was the most distrustful of Angel during his three year association with the Slayer in Sunnydale."  The clerk's eyes returned to normal and she looked at Lilah.  "Is that all?"

Lilah didn't respond to her condescending tone.  She simply walked away deep in thought.

----

"I can't believe they're making me go up with you two.  Why can't I go up with the others?"  Connor whined as soon as they got outside.

"I don't know."  Xander snapped.  "Just get in the back!"

The key to stopping Sahjhan was in the hands of a whining, sniveling, son-of-a Deadboy?  Looking back I should've had Oz knock me out with a hammer.  It would've made my head hurt less than having to listen to this brat on the ride home. 

So I came to L.A. looking for Angel and instead recruited his gang to my cause.  Not exactly what I was hoping for but not bad either.  Though I wasn't any closer to finding Buffy and Dawn their help put us in a much better position to find them.  

It was too bad Cordy went missing because those visions of hers are quite possibly the closest thing to what was plowing through my head.  And believe me the term 'plowing' is an understatement.  It felt like somebody using a jackhammer from my construction site on my head that last time. You have to remember I had no idea Anya was behind this.  

The entire ride up I was taking Wesley's advice and focusing on how to locate Sahjhan.  And the strangest part was that I actually did have a good idea on how to do that.  

----

"This just doesn't make sense.  Why would he steal a useless scroll?"

Lilah was in Linwood's office relaying all of the information she had discovered about Alexander Harris.

"I don't know sir.  All we know is he has a connection to Angel Investigations."  She explained.

"And you're sure that's all he took?" 

"From what we can tell I believe so."

"Well I suppose the scrolls are of no value.  But still he stole from me.  Not only that he was trespassing in our most secure areas and vandalized poor Gavin's office."

"Guess the kid's not all bad."  Lilah quietly said to herself.

"Well I can't allow something like this to go unanswered.  Add to the fact he had help from Angel's group is unacceptable.  Lilah dispatch a tactical team to the Hyperion.  I want that boy's head on a platter and after this episode I believe Angel's associates have outlived their usefulness."

----

TBC


End file.
